My Personal High Cholesterol Story

After my wellness exam, I was sent to get lab work done and I didn't like the results that were explained to me afterwards.

I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, all in the same sentence! The doctor said, "I"ll send some prescriptions to your druggist." My goodness, I was almost in a state of shock! How could this happen? Thinking to myself, a video began to play about the burgers, fries, hot dogs, doughnuts, cake and cookies that I'd been eating. Not to mention starchy foods and breads. I had to figure out what to do with this new discovery.

I was thinking, blood tests don't lie, what do I need to do? I could just take the prescribed drugs and do nothing but that's just not me, I'm not going out like that! Right then, I was doing a lot of thinking about the best course of action. Then a light bulb went off in my head, I needed to educate myself, I knew nothing about this stuff, why it happened and what could I do to work on eliminating this problem. This was one discovery that had to go!

Being born with cholesterol already in my body, my liver makes all I need for my body. So, when I eat foods that are high in saturated fats and trans fats, my liver produces more cholesterol. When this process occurs, my body has more than it needs. This excess cholesterol causes plaque to form inside the walls of my arteries making my blood flow limited.

Well doc, "what is plaque I asked?" I didn't want to sound like a dummy but I didn't know. In laymen terms he tried to explain it to me. I understood what he said to mean that plaque forms these little balls that can't be seen with the naked eye but if they burst, they make blood clots! Say one of those clots blocked an artery that is suppose to send blood to the brain, a stroke would occur or if a clot blocks an artery that sends blood to the heart, then a heart attack will happen!

Studies have shown that whey protein given as a supplement lowers both LDL and total cholesterol but If you want to learn more about cholesterol lowering drugs, visit https://www.drugs.com/condition/hyperlipidemia.html

The Latest FDA Approvals for High Cholesterol Drugs and must be prescribed by a doctor:

• Praluent
• Repatha
• Trilipix
• Simcor

Your total cholesterol should be below 200 mg/dL. Keep your LDL (”bad”) cholesterol well under 160 mg/dL if you are at low risk for a heart attack, below 130 mg/dL if you are at moderate risk for a heart attack, and less than 100 mg/dL if you are at high risk for a heart attack (and ideally lower than 70 mg/dL if you’re at very high risk, for example, because of a recent heart attack or stroke). Your HDL (”good”) cholesterol should be 40 mg/dL or greater if you are a man and 50 mg/dL or more if you are a woman (and preferably 60 mg/dL or higher). Your triglyceride level should be under 150 mg/dL.

Source for total cholesterol numbers, visit: www.knowabouthealth.com

This page is not intended to diagnose or treat. You'll need to see your doctor for treatment and diagnosis.